The Kurio Xtreme 2 is a solid gaming tablet for kids, but other tablets appeal to both parents and children alike—for less.

The Xtreme 2 ($129.99; 16GB) is Kurio's latest tablet designed specifically for kids. It lets parents log in and out of their child's account to decide what can be done with the tablet. That's about as far as adults will want to go, because features and performance aren't notable otherwise. Thanks to some fun preloaded games and a colorful bumper, the Kurio Xtreme 2 will likely appeal to kids, though you could slap a protective case on the inexpensive Amazon Fire with FreeTime Unlimited, and please adults and children alike.

Design and SoftwareA somewhat bulky 7-inch tablet, the Xtreme 2 comes with a removable rubber bumper to protect against inevitable drops and dings. It measures 9.4 by 6.7 by 2.3 inches (HWD) and weighs 1.4 pounds, which might be a bit heavy for very small children. The Power and Volume Up/Down buttons sit along the right side of the tablet, and micro USB and micro HDMI ports can be found on the bottom edge. A microSD card slot is on the left, under the rubber bumper. The tablet only supports cards up to 32GB.

The 1,024-by-600-pixel-resolution display is a bit grainy. It's on par with the Amazon Fire screen, which is the same size and resolution, but that tablet is less than half te price. There's also a front-facing VGA camera, while the rear camera uses a 2.1-megapixel sensor.

The back of the tablet has a detachable flap that you can connect to the rubber bumper for use as a kickstand. This is useful not only for video viewing, but for the suite of Motion apps that come preinstalled (more on that below).

The Xtreme 2 has dual Android-based interfaces. For parents, who get their own account, it runs a version of Android 5.0 Lollipop that's pretty close to stock. This account is password-protected, and lets you manage the apps your child can use, and set authorized hours for use and total daily playing time. You can also grant or deny your child Web access, and set up Web filtering.

For kids, the menu system is a much more heavily modified, child-friendly design that consists of a few bars with different menus, apps, and games. The top row holds Favorites, Kurio Selection, Games, Educative, Media, Ebooks, and Other. The next two rows are installed apps and games. There are dozens of pre-installed titles, including Frontier Heroes, Geo Atlas, HelloKittyCafe, Motion Playground, and Motion Extreme.

HelloKittyCafe is a somewhat stressful game, where Hello Kitty is a small business owner and must run a restaurant serving cupcakes and ice cream to clientele without any breaks. In testing, it played very well on the Xtreme 2 with no lag. Fun, simple games like this are sure to please children.

There are also Motion games, where the Xtreme 2 uses sensors to detect your motion. I played a baseball simulator, where I was pitched a ball and had to hit it. Setting up the game was relatively simple. You'll need to pop off the detachable rear plastic flap, attach it to the ruber bumper, and stand the tablet up in landscape mode. You then turn on the game, and stand back three or four feet from the tablet—it will prompt you and guide you where to stand. I took a few swings and, while I wasn't knocking out home runs, I was impressed by how well the tablet tracked my motions. It works similarly to the Xbox Kinect.

These games are geared toward making kids move more, and while it's not exactly the same as going outside and hitting some baseballs or riding a bike, it's a fine attempt at getting some exercise. Overall, there are plenty of solid games here that are sure to occupy your kids for some type. And there are even educational options, like Alpha's Grab, which helps kids learn spelling, so you don't have to feel bad about it.

You also get access to the Google Play store, so you can download any apps you see fit for your children, and grant them access. Kids cannot access Google Play on the tablet.

Performance Powered by a MediaTek MTK8127 quad-core processor that clocks in at 1.2GHz, the Kurio Xtreme 2 is a bit sluggish when juggling multiple tasks, but more than adequate playing single, simple games. From a performance perspective, it scored a 23,122 on the AnTuTu benchmark, lagging behind other small tablets like the Asus Zenpad S 8.0 (45,891). But these numbers are almost beside the point—this is a tablet for kids, primarily, and doesn't demand much in terms of raw performance.

The cameras on the Xtreme 2 are nothing to get excited about. The rear 2.1-megapixel camera takes grainy, unfocused shots, no matter how good the lighting conditions. And the front-facing VGA camera will pass for a video call, but that's it.

We didn't expect much from the Xtreme 2's 2,820mAh battery, which is smaller than some phone batteries. It lasted for 4 hours and 16 minutes on our rundown test, which streams video over Wi-Fi with the screen at full brightness. This is in line with the previous Kurio 7 (4 hours and 12 minutes), but it falls far behind the Amazon Fire (6 hours and 5 minutes). If you're packing the tablet for a long trip, you might want to think about picking up a car charger.

ConclusionsThe Kurio Xtreme 2 can't stand up to high-end flagship tablets, like the Apple iPad Mini 2 or the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0, but it's not meant to. The Xtreme 2 is a mobile gaming and education platform for children, with good parental controls and lots of useful preinstalled software. It's a good choice for children, and a gift you can feel pretty good about giving. That said, you can save some money by picking up the Amazon Fire. The Fire doesn't come preloaded with all the child-friendly content, but with a subscription to FreeTime Unlimited for $2.99 per month, you'll get access to thousands of kid-friendly books, educational apps, games, movies, and TV shows.

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About the Author

Raised in the Midwest, Ben considers himself a generally nice guy. He went to NYU to study journalism and comparative literature, and went on to captain the NYU Fencing Team. Sabre, since you asked.
He came to PCMag after a stint at Men's Fitness magazine, where he tried to get totally jacked. He didn't. But he did find some time to review plent... See Full Bio

Kurio Xtreme 2

Kurio Xtreme 2

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